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Thursday, August 20, 2026

THE MARTHA’S VINEYARD TIMES

Volume 43, Issue No. 32

3 Sections

Increasingly fragile supply chain keeps Island afloat

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Martha’s Vineyard Commission identifies high risks in transport of Island essentials. BY HAYLEY DUFFY

LUKE DIORIO PHOTOGRAPHY

The Ferris wheel made its long-anticipated return.

A fair share of fun for all The 164th annual Agricultural Fair draws a big crowd. BY MARIA BARROS

rom the colorful cars of the Ferris wheel turning above the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society grounds in West Tisbury, a scene unfolded below: Families drifted between rides and food

booths, and the sounds of the buzzing amusement rides mingled with the bustle of animals in the barns, all familiar rhythms of the four-day Agricultural Fair, which celebrated 164 years this August.

The annual fair, held at the Agricultural Hall on Panhandle Road, featured barn animals, events, contests where participants won bright blue, red, or yellow ribbons, Continued on A7

he supply chain for Martha’s Vineyard is a casual system based on informal coordination and institutional knowledge, almost totally dependent on marine transportation. That casual network is not a shock to those who live here, but the vulnerabilities are anything but casual. In fact, parts of the Island have been deemed “highly vulnerable,” according to a new study. Between geographic isolation, limited onIsland supply reserves, exposure to increasingly unpredictable and severe weather, and complete reliance on single ferry lines and ports, the network of people, companies, and resources that transport essentials — food, fuel, construction materials, and waste — to and from the Island is fragile. The study publicized at the end of June from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) found that the Island’s supply chain functions as a “tightly interconnected but highly fragile system, dependent almost entirely on marine transportation and a small number of critical operators,” and as sea levels rise, storms intensify, and infrastructure ages, there are more and more risks to the economy, public service, and daily life on the Island. Just as the summer season started, the MVC, the town of Nantucket, and the town of Gosnold, more informally known as the Elizabeth Islands, completed a preliminary risk assessment of the islands’ supply chains with funds from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) through the agency’s ResilientCoasts Initiative. The initiative, which culminated in a final plan released last year that outlines guidContinued on A9

Warren’s Island visit focuses on housing initiatives The senator highlighted a federal housing act she championed. BY SARAH SHAW DAWSON

en. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, came to the Island last week to focus on affordable housing at a roundtable discussion as local officials look for federal and state assistance amid growing concerns about the sustainability of life on the Island for year-round residents. Arriving Friday, August 14, for the day, Warren said she came to learn more about the reality of housing for locals and to present a substantial housing act that she cosponsored, which became federal law this July. She toured workplace units, and lent her ear to the drawbacks faced and achievements made in tackling the Vineyard’s housing crisis, as the median home price was close to $1.7 million in 2025, and average sale price jumped in the past year more than $600,000, to $2.5 million; all while the regional median income remains steady, at $114,200 for an individual, and $163,100

for a family of four, according to the Dukes County Housing Authority. Local leaders in regional planning, the working waterfront, social services, housing, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) met with Warren at the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce Friday and described a balancing act between the building pressure of a tourism economy and the reality of lower- to middle-income earners who support that system; the nexus of both is affordable housing. “My view on this is: It is a really tricky economy,” Warren told the room of Island representatives. “There’s enormous wealth flowing to the top. We’re watching the pressure on not just families that have struggled for a long time; we’re watching a lot of pressure on 90 percent of Americans … I just want to be able to hear from all of you.” Warren, a Democrat, Continued on A8

Sen. Elizabeth Warren casts a glance at State Sen. Julian Cyr. See A8 for an abbreviated interview between Warren and The Times.

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